From the Whole-Group Lineup to a Solo Portrait at Occidental at Xcaret — Free to Reserve
The list starts with the kids: parents who leave with four hundred pictures of the week and not one that has all five in it. Then the three-generation trips — grandparents who have not been photographed alongside every grandchild in a decade. Quinceañera portraits, the dress flown down in its own suitcase. Milestone birthdays, when the whole table dresses for dinner. Couples who slip out for an hour while the little ones nap. Anniversaries — the tenth, the twenty-fifth, the fiftieth. A surprise proposal, timed for the one morning the family can be told to stay put. Babymoon and maternity sessions. Solo portraits, for whoever has spent the trip holding everyone else’s phone. And a private yacht outing, when half the group has already decided the morning belongs on the water.
This is Barceló’s side of the Xcaret family, and the plan that includes park admission is what fills the rooms — which is why groups here tend to arrive in full excursion mode: everyone already dressed for a day out, nobody with a spare hour left in the schedule. Booking an Occidental at Xcaret photographer is mostly a matter of claiming one hour before the trip starts, while it is still yours to claim. Thousands of sessions across Playa del Carmen went into knowing which hour that is. Names, headcount and the exact slot are agreed on WhatsApp before you board the plane, and nothing is charged to hold it. What a photo costs once you have seen it is spelled out on our Playa del Carmen photographer page. Tell us how many of you there are and we will tell you how that hour should run.
Three Shoots We Photograph for Families Staying Here
Families at this hotel often arrive as a unit: the kids, and very often a grandparent or two who quietly paid for a chunk of the week. Nobody needs to be a model or to have hired a photographer before, and the budget for the week is already spent. These are the three sessions we suggest most to guests staying here.
Families with little kids
Small children are the reason we shoot early and keep it short. We work in bursts — dig, run, splash, then a frame — and we are off the sand inside an hour, before anyone is hot, hungry or done with us. The beach we use has calm, shallow water at the edge, so a two-year-old can wade while we work instead of being held still for pictures he will resent by lunchtime. Our family session guide shows the pace we mean.
The grandparents’ trip
When the grandparents come along, the group photo stops being optional — and it is usually the one that does not exist yet. We choreograph it so nobody hides in the back row: the full lineup first while everyone is fresh, then quick rotations — grandparents with the baby, the cousins in a heap, each little family on its own. That is a group session, and it fits inside the same hour.
Everyday vacation memories
No occasion at all, and no announcement. Plenty of guests here simply want real photographs of the week instead of a camera roll full of strangers’ shoulders — the toddler meeting the sea, the teenagers pretending they are too cool for this. Our vacation photoshoot guide shows the kind of easy frames an hour like that produces.
Comparing resorts? See also Iberostar Waves Tucán & Quetzal Photographer and Devossion by Live Aqua Photographer.
How We Get You From Your Room to Open Sand
You are staying at Km 282 of the Carretera Federal, roughly ten kilometres — about six miles — south of downtown Playa del Carmen, which sounds like a problem until you price the ride. A taxi into town runs ten to fifteen minutes, and it is the same taxi you were already going to take for dinner on Fifth Avenue — so families here can shoot on the way in and stay for the evening rather than making a separate trip of it. Cancun airport is just under an hour north and Tulum is about forty-five minutes south, which is why we usually suggest booking the first or second morning: you land, you settle, and the photos are done before the week gets busy.
Where we take you is Punta Esmeralda — open, free and public, with a freshwater cenote running straight out onto the sand, which means the kids have something to do between frames instead of asking how much longer. Playa Mamitas, closer to the middle of town, is the other option; with toddlers we almost always pick Esmeralda, because a bored two-year-old ends a session faster than weather does. Either way you get open sand with the real Playa del Carmen behind you, rather than loungers and towers in every frame.
For couples or groups of up to 4, we can pick you up. Message us and we’ll work it out based on your hotel.
Travelling without the kids for once, or marking something bigger? Ask about our signature beach-gown editorial sessions in Playa del Carmen — metres of fabric in the morning breeze, made for the one frame that belongs on a wall.
Occidental at Xcaret Destination Photo Packages and Prices
Pricing is refreshingly simple: there is no session fee. You pay $15 USD per photo with a 10-photo minimum ($150 USD) for one or two people; a family or a group books a package instead: up to 4 people for $370 USD, or any group size for $519 USD — so you only ever pay for the images you love, which takes all the pressure off an hour with unpredictable toddlers. You can see everything we offer, and hundreds of recent sessions, on our Playa del Carmen photographer page.
- Pay per photo — $15 USD each, 10-photo minimum ($150 USD); one or two people, 30 minutes.
- Storyteller — $220 USD; up to 2 people, 40 minutes, 20 edited photos.
- Popular — $370 USD; up to 4 people, 60 minutes, 40 edited photos, 2 outfits.
- Premium — $519 USD; any group size, 120 minutes, 80 edited photos.
Every hotel has its own rules about photography on the property. We know how each one works — message us and we’ll tell you exactly what your options are where you’re staying.
You do not need any experience in front of a camera. We direct the whole thing, and you can see how that turns out on our Playa del Carmen photographer page. Send us your dates and we will tell you which morning of your week to keep free.
Ready to Get Your Whole Family in One Frame?
Tell us your dates and how many of you are travelling, and we will hold a morning for you. Early slots are held in the order messages arrive.
Why a Session Here Is an Easy Yes
If your family has never hired a photographer, here is what makes this the trip to do it.
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You only pay for what you love
There is no session fee. You see the whole gallery afterwards and choose from it, so nobody is buying a hundred photos of the same wave.
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It rides along with a plan you had
The ride into town is the one you were already taking for dinner. We shoot on the way in, and your evening is untouched.
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Built around small kids
One hour, short bursts, calm shallow water to wade in. We stop before anyone melts down, and the candids in between are usually the keepers.
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We direct the whole thing
Nobody here has done this before, and that is fine. We tell everyone where to stand and what to do with their hands, so it looks like your family and not like posing.
Family Sessions at Occidental at Xcaret Destination — FAQ
Ten photos is $150 USD. Is that really worth it on a family vacation?
It is the question almost every family here asks, and it is a fair one. Look at what else the week costs: the ride into town, one dinner out, one afternoon of activities — all gone by Sunday. Ten photographs with all of you in them, including the parent who held the phone all week, are on your wall for twenty years. There is no session fee, and you choose the images after you have seen them, so you never pay for something you do not want.
Is a beach session realistic with a toddler?
Yes, and we plan the session around toddlers. We do not ask small children to hold poses — we shoot in short bursts and let them dig, run and wade while we work, catching the real frames in between. An hour early, before it gets hot, is all it takes, and the candids are almost always what families end up printing.
We are not models and we have never done this. Will it look awkward?
No — you do not need any experience in front of a camera, and we guide every pose. There is nothing to apologise for. We direct the entire hour: where to stand, where to look, and when to simply talk to each other and ignore us. What comes out looks like your family, not like posing.
Where do we meet you if we are staying at Occidental at Xcaret Destination?
At the public beach we agree on beforehand — usually Punta Esmeralda, which is free and open, and about a ten to fifteen minute taxi ride north from the hotel at Km 282. We send the exact pin over WhatsApp the day before, and for couples or groups of up to four we can pick you up instead.
How long is the session, and when in the week should we book it?
Plan on about an hour on the sand. We suggest the first or second morning of your trip: you are rested, nobody is sunburnt yet, and if the weather turns we still have days left to move you. Families who wait until the last morning are the ones who occasionally go home without photos.
More Playa del Carmen & Riviera Maya Resorts We Photograph
Playa del Carmen — town & north beaches
- Devossion by Live Aqua Photographer
- The Fives Beach Hotel Photographer
- Hyatt Centric Playa del Carmen Photographer
- Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen Photographer
- Mahekal Beach Resort Photographer
- Ocean Riviera Paradise Photographer
- Paradisus Playa del Carmen Photographer
- Real Playa del Carmen Photographer
- The Reef Coco Beach Photographer
- Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen Photographer
- The Yucatan Playa del Carmen Photographer
Playacar
- Allegro Playacar Photographer
- Iberostar Waves Tucán & Quetzal Photographer
- Playacar Palace Photographer
- The Reef Playacar Photographer
- Hotel Riu Lupita Playa del Carmen Photographer
- Riu Palace Mexico Playa del Carmen Photographer
- Riu Palace Riviera Maya Photographer
- Hotel Riu Playacar Photographer
- Riu Tequila Playa del Carmen Photographer
- Hotel Riu Yucatan Photographer
- Royal Hideaway Playacar Photographer
- Sandos Playacar Photographer
- Viva Azteca Playa del Carmen Photographer
- Viva Maya Playa del Carmen Photographer
Mayakoba
- Alila Mayakoba Photographer
- Banyan Tree Mayakoba Photographer
- Fairmont Mayakoba Photographer
- Rosewood Mayakoba Photographer
Riviera Maya — Xcaret & Playa Paraíso
- Grand Velas Riviera Maya Photographer
- Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya Photographer
- Hotel Xcaret Arte Photographer
- Hotel Xcaret México Photographer